With Moana, Disney has created one of the most original, culturally important, and progressive movies in their long and storied history. Oscar-nominated veteran directors John Musker and Ron Clements brought their decades of experience to bear on this cutting-edge animated production that exceeded expectations on the technological front as well as storytelling side of things. Newcomer Auli'i Cravalho was a miraculous find who has now become synonymous with the title character, while action-movie star Dwayne Johnson shows his silly (and at times dramatic) side as the demi-god Maui, though the leads are just two of the film's many roles played by Polynesian actors, with Alan Tudyk being the sole exception, an impressive feat in and of itself.

There's a lot to the story of Moana--the history behind its five-year journey to the screen, the technological achievements that had to be created to bring the movie to life the way the animators wanted it to be, the thousands of years of culture and history of Pacific Islanders that served as inspiration and a storytelling touchstone--that comes across on screen, but like islands and reefs, there's so much more to find beneath the surface. Luckily, the newly released Blu-ray takes viewers on an in-depth journey behind the scenes of Moana and unveils the incredible culture, creative effort, and feats of engineering that went into making the magical movie.

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Image via Disney

For Disney fanatics, this Blu-ray is a must-own and the Bonus Features are must-watch videos. Musker and Clements take viewers on a journey to the Pacific Islands that acts as a sort of historical mini-documentary that makes you appreciate the culture behind Moana even more. Folks who enjoy the technical side of things will be awed by the achievements the software engineers and animation artists have come up with, continuing to push the boundaries of animated features. Plus, there's a lot of trivia, Easter eggs, deleted scenes, and additional music to be found! (All I want of Moana now is news of an animated series, please.)

Here are 75+ things you didn't know about Moana and more:

Easter Eggs

Easter eggs include:

  • The lamp from Aladdin hidden in the shiny shell of Tamatoa
  • Aladdin's magic carpet hidden in plain site in the village (though it's made out of tapa here)
  • Aladdin co-directors Clements and Musker appear in glyph form on a blanket and in tiki form
  • Flounder from The Little Mermaid appears in a school of fish during a song sequence
  • Frozen's Olaf (or at least his arm and his nose...) appears in Moana's basket of supplies on the raft
  • Frozen's Sven also makes a brief cameo
  • Frozen's ice monster Marshmallow also inspired the design for one of the hut's monstrous tapa cloths
  • a barely recognizable Flash (the sloth) from Zootopia appears as the multi-armed monster under the sea
  • one of the kakamora is painted to look like Big Hero 6's Baymax
  • the magical flower from Tangled hides among the island's flora
  • a hidden Mickey Mouse head silhouette in the ocean
  • and many more yet to be discovered!
  • Former Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu appears in the scene in which Moana fixes the leaky roof in a hut

Deleted Scenes

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Image via Disney

Since Clements and Musker worked on Moana for five years, not all scenes that were storyboarded made it into the final film. Here are a few:

  • One scene showed Moana learning at an early age to respect the ocean because it wasn't her plaything.
  • Moana originally had 6 older brothers who challenged her proficiency in sailing, but that all went away.
  • Earlier versions spent more time with Moana at a younger age including her relationship with her father and Pua, but certain scenes were cut for sake of time.
  • More of Moana's relationship with her grandmother and Moana's early lessons in navigation were also cut. This particular scene also offers insight on Moana's grandfather and how her father became chief.
  • One scene showcased the differing points of view between Moana's father and her grandfather, especially as it pertained to Moana herself. It was also Temuera Morrison and Rachel House's audition scene for their roles.
  • Another earlier version of Moana's sailing skills was cut since the story was changed to have Maui teach her these skills throughout the movie.
  • There's also an earlier version of Maui and Moana entering the underworld that features a more involved encounter with an eight-eyed bat and a different take on Mini-Maui.

Trivia

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Image via Disney
  • Co-directors Ron Clements and John Musker originally pitched the idea of Moana, centered around Maui, to John Lasseter in 2011.
  • Maui's prologue introduction wasn't added until about halfway through the production in order to introduce the character and the conflict in the story.
  • The villain Te Ka was originally called Te Po and had actual dialogue.
  • The island of Motunui is a fictional creation that means "big island" is a number of Polynesian languages.
  • The traditional Māori greeting known as the hongi is used throughout the film.
  • Maui's fishhook constellation does exist--it's the tail of the scorpion--but the movie's version has many more stars in it.
  • Clements and Musker took a trip to the Pacific Islands to gain inspiration for Moana, but ended up being more affected by the experience than they expected. Producer Osnat Shurer also shares her insight from the trip.
  • They met a man named Papa Mape who told them, "For years we've been swallowed by your culture. For once could you be swallowed by our culture?"
  • Their trip, from 2011 to 2016, took them from Samoa, to Tahiti, to Vahine, to Fiji, and more, eventually ending in New Zealand.
  • Respect for the ocean was a major lesson during this trip and it led to them making the ocean itself a character in the film.
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    Image via Disney
    Maui was originally the focus of the story, but that focus shifted to the navigator-in-training, Moana, a name from a Polynesian word that means "ocean."
  • The amazing history of Polynesian navigators also became an important focal point in the story, especially since the culture preceded that of European seafarers but is less well-known in Western culture.
  • Navigators would track reflections of clouds (if their undersides were green, there was likely an island beneath them) and seabirds, using only organic observations to find their way. In this manner they colonized the Pacific Islands, but a 1,000 year periods where they ceased this navigation played into Moana's mythology.
  • Another focus was on the family unit, one that extends to the whole village both in Moana and in the island community. That also includes Moana's relationships with her parents, grandmother, and the people in her village.
  • Another strong quality experienced on their journey was the prevalence of music, singing, and dancing throughout the villages, either in church services of traditional performances, like the haka.
  • Tattoos also have an important part in their culture and heritage, acting as a rite of passage for every man in the community. The process can take 12 days and is described as "the most painful thing you'll ever do in your life." Tattoos are a physical representation of their culture and history. Maui's tattoos were based on some real tattoos that they saw and acted as a record of his accomplishments.
  • Island resources, like the "tree of life" coconut trees, are respected because "you don't own the land, the land owns you." Every part of the coconut and the tree is used by the islanders. The idea of respect for nature and finding a balance between resources and consumption serves as a central theme.
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    Image via Disney
    The creative team behind the movie formed an "Oceanic braintrust" full of locals and Pacific Islands experts to weigh in on the story. They made changes based on the input they received.
  • Maui was originally designed as bald, but culturally his power is partially derived by his long hair, so that was changed.
  • Originally, Moana batted coconuts into the ocean when she was upset with her father, but since that wasn't culturally appropriate, that scene was changed as well.
  • Their casting was focused on people with a Pacific Island background, like Dwayne Johnson and newcomer Auli'i Cravalho. The only character in the movie voiced by a non-Polynesian was Juilliard-attendee Alan Tudyk's awkward chicken, Heihei. (Tudyk also voiced the villager who suggested eating Heihei.)
  • Johnson and Cravalho are both afraid of spiders.
  • Miranda loved to watch Bob Ross paint when he was a kid.
  • There are no photo references from Polynesian fashion from 3,000 years ago, so visual development/costume artist Neysa Bove took inspiration from jewelry and other artifacts and built costumes from there.
  • Leaves used in the costumes kept the islanders cool; dresses were made from fibers of the Pandanus plant which could be woven into different fabrics with different functions; others were made from Tapa cloth.
  • Moana's necklace was a unique creation with a lot of variations. The final design incorporated an abalone shell.
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    Image via Disney
    Moana's navigator costume focused on empowerment and was redesigned with that aim in mind.
  • Heihei the rooster was almost cut, but his stupidity was played up which gave him more humorous moments, saving him.
  • Cravalho's mother cameoed as a villager who says that Moana is "doing great."
  • Cravalho was 14 when they cast her, 15 when she recorded her songs, and turned 16 the day before the movie opened.

Music

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Image via Disney
  • The opening chant was created by Opetaia Foa'i and performed by his daughter.
  • The song about village life was added halfway through production to reflect the world of the Pacific Islands.
  • The music of the South Pacific is very percussive and very vocal, elements which come forward in the score.
  • Miranda joined onto Moana before Hamilton exploded in popularity. (He also won a dance contest as an audience volunteer.)
  • The music team combined an East Coast musician (Miranda), a West Coast musician (Mark Mancina), and a Pacific Islander musician (Foa'i), making for an unexpected but fruitful collaboration. Igelese Ete also brought together a Pacific Islander choir for the score.
  • Miranda and Foa'i worked more on the story side of things while Mancina focused on the technical aspects of the music.
  • The schedule forced them to record the choral pieces before the orchestral ones, which is the reverse of how they usually do it.
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    Image via Disney
    Foa'i and his singers sang a song to thank executive producer John Lasseter when he stopped by the recording session.
  • The deleted song "Warrior Face" came from the tradition of the haka. It was supposed to occur when Maui and Moana descended into the Realm of Monsters; Maui tells her to put on a warrior face to intimidate the monsters.
  • "Warrior Face" was originally written by Miranda and recorded by Christopher Jackson and Phillipa Soo during the Broadway production of Hamilton.
  • Alessia Cara performed the song "How Far I'll Go" for a music video. There's also a fantastic version of this song on the Blu-ray that is sang in 24 languages.
  • Tamatoa was designed with the late David Bowie in mind.

Animation

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Image via Disney
  • A 2D animation team brought Mini-Maui to life, especially at the hands of Eric Goldberg who designed the Genie in Aladdin. A lot of animators wanted to work with the veteran hand-drawn animation supervisor.
  • Goldberg also animated the opening prologue.
  • Goldberg describes Mini-Maui as Maui's conscience, a "Jiminy Cricket with attitude."
  • This is the first time a 2D character was animated on a 3D-animated character and integrated in such a manner.
  • A key to animated a toddler is to animate her as if she was drunk, according to Clements and Musker.
  • 80% of the shots in Moana have visual effects work in them since the film relies so heavily on magic.
  • One of the earliest technical challenges was the "water test" which helped to introduce the character of Moana, but ended up with a rewrite that gave the ocean life as a character itself.
  • The "water test" software was dubbed "Splash" (which included buoyancy mechanisms, restricted simulations for wakes, waves, and bubbles around characters and boats, and more), just as the "Matterhorn" software was created for snow and ice in Frozen.
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    Image via Disney
    Moana's lava monster Te Ka provided another technical challenge. A technique called "Foundation Effects" allowed the animators to create a puff of smoke and flame in order to "dress" the animated character.
  • Hair has long been a challenge for animators, normally forcing them to animate with static hair early on and then animating the hair itself later. Early discussions on Moana wanted to give animators more control over the hair. The engineers developed the "Quicksilver" software to offer computer-generated animated hair that could interact with the characters and the elements around them.
  • Technical achievements on Moana came from advances on Big Hero 6 and Zootopia, and will be passed onto the next film.

Bonus Features

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Image via Disney
  • The unique story of the animated short film Inner Workings, found on the Moana Blu-ray, hails from writer-director Leonardo Matsuda, whose half-Japanese and half-Brazilian heritage puts his logical mind and his passionate heart at odds at times.
  • Maui doesn't just use his fishing hook for his shape-shifting powers, he also fishes with it! Though as the short film "Gone Fishing" shows, that's sometimes easier said than done, especially when Moana and the playful ocean water make it difficult for him to grab a snack.

Bonus Features:

  • Theatrical Short Film: Inner Workings
  • Maui Mini-Movie: Gone Fishing
  • Voice of the Islands
  • Things You Didn't Know About...
  • Island Fashion
  • The Elements of...
  • They Know the Way: Making the Music of Moana
  • Deleted Song: "Warrior Face" with Introduction by Songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda
  • Fishing for Easter Eggs
  • Deleted Scenes
  • "How Far I'll Go" Performed by Alessia Cara
  • "How Far I'll Go" Around the World
  • Audio Commentary

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